Inflatable balloon pneumatic propulsion device

ABSTRACT

A toy rocket is disclosed in combination with an angularly adjustable cylindrical launch tube connected through a fast opening, normally closed, spring loaded &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;firing&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; valve to a source of compressed air contained in an expansible balloon. A check valve is provided for inflating the balloon by operation of a hand pump, and an indicator is provided to show the pressure of accumulated air in the balloon. All parts are fabricated of inexpensive plastic material, except that the balloon may be of rubber. By practice in selecting the amount of air pressure, angle of elevation and azimuth orientation the rocket may be accurately directed to hit a selected target within a range of 10 to 20 feet.

United States Patent 1 Allport i 1 INFLATABLE BALLOON PNEUMATICPROPULSION DEVICE [76] Inventor: Walter F. Allport, 404 Wildwood Road,Stamford, Conn. 06903 [22] Filed: Apr. 20, 1970 [2]] App]. No.: 29,832

[52] US. Cl 124/11 R, 46/74 B [51] Int. Cl. F4lf 1/04 [58] Field ofSearch 46/74 B,776, 44,

46/76 R, 76 A, 87, 89; 124/11, 13 A, 13 R [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 3,382,859 5/1968 Myers 124/11 3,046,966 7/1962 Buller....123/11 2,384,193 9/1945 Platt 46/76 2,409,653 10/1946 Amdur... 124/113,345,977 10/1967 Hall 124/11 1,721,704 7/1929 Madaschi 46/74 B UX June19, 1973 2,643,882 6/1953 Dozier 46/44 UX Primary Examiner-RichardPinkham Assistant Examiner-R. T. Stouffer Attorney-Robert A. Buckles 57ABSTRACT A toy rocket is disclosed in combination with an angularlyadjustable cylindrical launch tube connected through a fast opening,normally closed, spring loaded firing valve to a source of compressedair contained in an expansible balloon. A check valve is provided forinflating the balloon by operation of a hand pump, and an indicator isprovided to show the pressure of accumulated air in the balloon. Allparts are fabricated of inexpensive plastic material, except that theballoon may be of rubber. By practice in selecting the amount of airpressure, angle of elevation and azimuth orientation the rocket may beaccurately directed to hit a selected target within a range of 10 to 20feet.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Patented June 19, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR. Bgralel M a. @W

ATTORNEY afiented June 19, 1973 3,739,764

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INFLATABLE BALLOON PNEUMATIC PROPULSION DEVICEBACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION With increasing sophisticationof todays children, and the attention given to scientific feats such asrocket launches to outer space, educational toys for the young are nowin greater demand than ever before. While children of high school agemay actually build and launch miniature rockets fueled with solid orliquid propellants, a safer method of propulsion is needed for youngerchildren who wish to play with rockets. It is also desirable that a saferocket toy incorporate variable parameters such as fuel load, azimuthand elevation angles, which the child may select of its own volition,and by which selection and observation of results the child may learn tocontrol the operation of the toy to achieve a predicted or desiredresult.

Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide aninexpensive and completely safe educational propulsion toy.

Another object of the invention is to-provide an easily adjustable andcontrollable low pressure pneumatic system for toy propulsion.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide a toy pneumaticsystem employing an inflatable balloon as a source of controlledcompressed air.

A specific object of the invention is to provide an educationalpneumatic toy system wherein a player may select and control a pluralityof variable parameters.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in partappear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the constructions hereafter set forth, and the scope ofthe invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,reference should be had to the followingdetailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the complete toy rocket launching systemshowing from left to right an air pump, balloon reservoir, air pressuregauge, air release valve, and adjustable launching stand;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a quick release air valvetaken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1, suitable for use in the system of theinvention;

' FIG. 3 is a longitudinal partial cross-sectional view of the launchtube, taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1, showing in solid lines thebreech loading chamber as closed, and by dotted lines as in the open orloading position; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the loading chamber taken along theline 4-4 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 17, the opposite end of which is bent intoa 90 elbow to extend upwardly to an enlarged knob end 18 over which isfitted the mouth of an expansible rubber balloon 19. An air pressuregauge 20 is also inserted into the channel of T connector 16 toindicatethe pressure of air contained within the balloon 19. This pressure maynormally be varied from 14 to 18 p.s.i., or over a range of from 1 to 4pounds above exterior atmospheric pressure. Fanciful calibrations may beapplied to the face of gauge 20, as for example 0-1000, and eachdivision on the calibrated scale may be said to represent 1000 pounds ofrocket thrust.

The T connector 16, the gauge 20 supported thereon, and the rigid hollowtube 17 are preferably mounted on a flat base 21 as shown. An outputport 16c of T connector 16 connects with a flexible plastic air hose 22,the opposite end of which connects with the input port of a normallyclosed quick-release air valve indicated generally at 24 in FIG. 1. Airvalve 24 is operated by a thumb-press button 25 to quickly release airunder pressure in line 22 through exit port 26 and into flexible plasticair hose 27. The opposite end of air hose 27 connects to a pivotalbreech block 28 on a rocket launch stand indicated generally at 29.

Still referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, pivotal breech block 28 ismounted in a notch 30 of U shaped base block 31 and pivots about thelongitudinal axis of horizontal pin 32. Base block 31 is securelyaffixed to flat base board 34 which in the preferred embodiment iscircular as shown in FIG. 1. Base 34 also supports a pair of inclinedupstanding stanchions 35 and 36 which connect at their upper ends to ajunction block 37. Block 37 also supports the upper end of aquartercircular arcuate guide member 38 whose arcuate center coincideswith the pivotal axis of breech block 28 in the longitudinal axis of pin32. The lower end of arcuate guide member 38 is secured to baseboard 34by supporting block 39. The forward edge of mounting block 39 is taperedto form a pointed arrow portion 40 extending beyond the periphery ofcircular baseboard 34. Beneath baseboard 34, and coaxial therewith, is acircular mat 41 of greater diameter than base 34- and bearing on itsouter periphery, extending beyond the periphery of base 34, a pluralityof angular scale markings 42.

A hollow rigid launch tube 44 has its lower end mounted in tiltablebreech block 28, whereby air under pressure within flexible tube 27 isintroduced into launch tube 44. At an intermediate point between theopposite ends of launch tube 44 a supporting block 45 clampingly holdsrigid tube 44 in frictional engagement with arcuate guide member 38. Bymanually sliding clamping block 45 along the arcuate surface of guidemember 38 the barrel of launch tube 44 may be raised or lowered inelevation for aiming purposes. A plurality of elevation angle scaleindicia 46 are formed on the flat surface of arcuate guide member 38,and by aligning the upper flat surface of sliding block 45 with aselected one of these indicia any desired angle of elevation may beaccurately selected. Similarly, by lifting the entire launcher 29 aslight distance above its supporting pad 41 the launcher base 34 may berotated in a horizontal plane to align its azimuth indicator 40 with anydesired angle indicator 42 to achieve accuracy in aiming of apneumatically propelled toy rocket projectile. While the toy rocketprojectiles employed with the invention may be muzzle loaded by thesimple expedient of dropping a projectile into the elevated upper openend of a plain hollow launch tube 44, I prefer to provide a slidablebreech loading chamber indicated generally at 47 in FIG. 1 so that thelaunch tube 44 may be easily loaded even at low angles of elevation. Thebreech loading chamber 47, which will be described in greater detailhereinafter with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 of the drawings,provides greater sophistication and added realism to the operation ofthe toy rocket launcher.

Reference will now be had to FIG. 2 of the drawings which shows ingreater detail, by a center crosssectional view taken along the line 2-2of FIG. 1, the internal construction of the quick release firing controlair valve indicated generally at 24. The control 24 comprises a firsthollow cylindrical tube 48 having joined thereto, and forming a Tconfigured air channel therewith, a second cylindrical tube 26 whichserves as an exit port sealingly connected to flexible tube 27. At thelower end of cylinder 48 a hollow cylindrical insert 50 sealinglyreceives flexible tube 22 which, as shown in FIG. 1, is connected to thesource of air under pressure. Midway within the cylinder 48, at aposition below the junction of exit port 26, is secured an annular valveseat 51 having an axial bore 52 through which a valve stem 54 extends toconnect with and support an annular valve head 55. A resilient valvesealing washer 56, which may be of soft rubber, is affixed to the innerplane surface of valve head 55 and is held in normally closed and sealedengagement with valve seat 51 by the compressive force of spring 57extending between the inner end of a cylindrical plunger 58 affixed tothe valve stem 54, and the upper annular shoulder of valve seat 51. Asshown by solid lines in FIG. 2 the valve of control 24 is in itsnormally closed position. When the sliding plunger 58 is presseddownwardly against the force of compression spring 57, as shown bybroken lines in FIG. 2, the valve immediately opens to allow a burst ofair under pressure in tube 22 to pass through exit port 26 and intoflexible air hose 27, and thence into the breech end of rigid launchtube 44.

Reference will now be had to FIG. 3 of the drawings which is an enlargedcross-sectional view of the launch tube and loading chamber of theinvention taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1. The loading chamberindicated generally at 47 is formed by a longitudinal sidewall opening60 cut out of the top surface of rigid launch tube 44 as shown in FIG.3. As shown by solid lines in FIG. 3 the opening 60 is normally coveredand closed by an exterior sliding cylindrical tube member 61 of greaterdiameter than launch tube 44. An annular sealing ring 62, which may beof foam rubber or felt material, is cemented within the lower end ofcylinder 61 to provide a sliding but substantially airtight support ofcylinder 61 on the exterior surface of launch tube 44. The upper end 64of slidable cylinder 61 when in its closed position as shown by solidlines in FIG. 3 is in contact with an annular ring 65 of resilientsealing material cemented to the outer surface of launch tube 44 at aposition above and beyond the loading cut out 60. A lateral pin 66 issecured through the upper top wall of cylinder 61 and extends throughthe cut out opening 60 into sliding engagement with the bottom innercylindrical wall surface of launch tube 44. A small pad of softresilient material 67 is cemented to the bottom inner cylindricalsurface of outer cylinder 61 directly opposite the inner end of pin 66to maintain uniform axial spacing between launch tube 44 and outercylinder 61 as the latter is slid downwardly on tube 44 to the openloading position shown by broken lines in FIG. 3. A horizontal guide pinor wire insert 68 (best seen in FIG. 4) extends laterally through thesidewalls of cylinder 61 in a position to slide along the cut outopening 60 to further guide cylinder 61 when it is slidably moved to itsopen position, and to prevent rotation of cylinder 61 about thelongitudinal axis of launch tube 44.

Referring now to FIG. 4 of the drawings, which is a cross-sectional viewof the breech loading chamber and slidable chamber cover taken along theline 4-4 of FIG. 3, the coaxial relationship of the launch tube 44 andthe outer cylinder cover 61 may be more clearly seen. The inner end oflateral pin 66 extends through the cut out 60 into close proximity withthe inner cylindrical wall of launch tube 44, whereby in cooperationwith the resilient spacing pad 67 the coaxial relation is maintained asthe cover cylinder 61 is moved to the open breech position. Thecross-bar guide 68 adjacent and at right angles to pin 66 slides uponthe parallel flat surfaces 69 and 70 of the cut out opening 60 tofurther guide the sleeve cover 61 and to prevent axial rotation betweencover 61 and barrel 44 as the cover is slidably moved into either openposition as shown by broken lines in FIG. 3, or into closed position asshown by solid lines in FIG. 3.

A simulated toy rocket projectile 71 (FIG. 3), which may be formed ofwood, aluminum, or molded plastic, is provided with flight stabilizingfins 72. When the breech loading cover 61 is moved downwardly to theopen breech position as shown by broken lines in FIG. 3 the projectile71 may be placed into the breech opening 60 with the bottom of its tailfins 72 resting upon cross-bar guide 68. As the breech cover 61 is thenslidably moved to its closed position as shown by solid lines in FIG. 3,the projectile 71 slides upwardly within the bore of launch tube 44 intoposition ready for firing. Because the breech is now completely sealedby closure of the cover cylinder 61, a burst of compressed airintroduced into the bottom of launch tube 44 through flexible tubing 27and pivotal block 28 drives the projectile 71 through the bore and outof the open end of launch tube 44.

SUMMARY Referring once again to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the overalloperation of the toy rocket launching system of the invention will bebriefly described. A child playing 'with the apparatus will firstoperate the hand pump 10 by means of handle 11 to blow up the balloon 19to a selected pressure value as indicated by gauge 20. Next theelevation angle of launch tube 44 will be selected by sliding supportblock 45 along the arcuate surface of elevation guide 38 and the angleof elevation will be noted. Then a suitable azimuth angle for aiming theprojectile will be selected by rotating the base 34 with respect to thelaunch pad 41, and this angle will be noted. Now the operator mayrecheck the fuel load" indicated by pressure gauge 20, and make a finaladjustment thereof by means of hand pump 10. When all three variableshave been set the projectile is launched by depressing the firing"button 25 to open control valve 24. If the projectile does not reach thedesired target, the child operator may then readjust one or more of thevariables under his control and fire again.

It will thus be seen that the combined apparatus of the inventionprovides a unique and highly educational toy rocket launching systemwhich is completely safe to use and relatively inexpensive tomanufacture.

It will also be seen that the objects set forth above, among those madeapparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and,since certain changes may be made in the above construction withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention which,as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. A toy rocket launcher comprising in combination, a substantially flatbase member, an arcuate member extending in a vertical plane from saidbase member, a rigid elongated hollow cylindrical tube open at one end,horizontally disposed pivot means mounted on said base member andpivotably supporting the opposite end of said hollow tube, means mountedon said tube intermediate the opposite ends thereof and frictionallyengaging said arcuate member, a flexible hose pneumatically sealed atone end to the pivotally mounted end of said tube, means including aquick release air valve connecting the opposite end of said flexiblehose to an inflatable balloon, and a hand pump and check valve connectedto said balloon connecting means, whereby upon operation of said pumpsaid balloon is inflated and upon operation of said release valvecompressed air entrapped in said balloon passes through said flexiblehose and into the pivotal end of said rigid cylindrical tube to propelsaid projectile through said tube and out of the open end thereof.

2. The combination of claim 1 and a hatch opening in the sidewall ofsaid rigid cylindrical tube for the insertion of said projectiletherein, and an airtight slidable sleeve cover surrounding saidcylindrical tube for sealingly closing said hatch opening after aprojectile has been inserted therethrough.

3. The combination of claim 1 and an air pressure indicator connectedbetween said balloon connecting means and said quick release valve.

1. A toy rocket launcher comprising in combination, a substantially flatbase member, an arcuate member extending in a vertical plane from saidbase member, a rigid elongated hollow cylindrical tube open at one end,horizontally disposed pivot means mounted on said base member andpivotably supporting the opposite end of said hollow tube, means mountedon said tube intermediate the opposite ends thereof and frictionallyengaging said arcuate member, a flexible hose pneumatically sealed atone end to the pivotally mounted end of said tube, means including aquick release air valve connecting the opposite end of said flexiblehose to an inflatable balloon, and a hand pump and check valve connectedto said balloon connecting means, whereby upon operation of said pumpsaid balloon is inflated and upon operation of said release valvecompressed air entrapped in said balloon passes through said flexiblehose and into the pivotal end of said rigid cylindrical tube to propelsaid projectile through said tube and out of the open end thereof. 2.The combination of claim 1 and a hatch opening in the sidewall of saidrigid cylindrical tube for the insertion of said projectile therein, andan airtight slidable sleeve cover surrounding said cylindrical tube forsealingly closing said hatch opening after a projectile has beeninserted therethrough.
 3. The combination of claim 1 and an air pressureindicator connected between said balloon connecting means and said quickrelease valve.